kcballer21
I'm curious to know what the academic community has to say about transhumanism
I would say most of the academic community would dismiss transhumanists as wackos or at least as sane but overly optimistic technology enthusiasts, but they would do this without bothering to investigate the actual issues. It's the otherwise productive "hmm, they're making some very drastic claims about what the world will look like, so they must be mad, so let's ignore them" heuristic misfiring. (98% of it is just unfamiliarity, and stupid stereotypes, IMHO.)
I would also say most of the academic community is dead wrong about this, and that if you learn more of various sciences and read what transhumanists have to say with an open mind, rationally weighing all the evidence, you will probably come to agree with me.
There are also some (such as Leon Kass and Francis Fukuyama) who take transhumanism seriously, but think it's a moral evil. I think they're wrong, too.
I urge you to read up on various things and form your own judgment, instead of relying on reputation.
Can anyone provide me with some references? The most I could find was a listing on Wikipedia.
I recommend the http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/faq.html for general information. If you're specifically looking for references on transhumanism's and the WTA's reputation among academics, I can't think of any; reputation is a very intangible thing, made up of many people's individual opinions.
I assume you've already googled?
marcus
never heard of it
sounds Grand Wacko
Perhaps, but *please* look beyond superficial first impressions. It's the rational, civilized thing to do.
Most transhumanists think these revolutionary technological developments will happen in the first half of this century. They tend to be sane, rational, intelligent, and very scientifically literate people. Isn't it worth spending some time reading things on the web, just to see for yourself whether or not they're wackos?
kcballer21
I've read about Bostrom before with his ideas concerning the anthropic principle and know that he is an oxford professor, what do you think?
I really like his work (pretty much all of it), which can be found on his website at
nickbostrom.com.
Chronos
Well, Nick Bostrom asserts there is no objective reality.
Where, and in what context? Or are you making this up? It doesn't sound at all like something he'd assert.
kcballer21: I'm sorry if I seem a bit testy about all of this, but, come on, you placed this in "skepticism and debunking", among all the UFO and astrology idiots. Whether or not the claims of transhumanists are generally true, it should be almost immediately obvious that they don't belong in the woo-woo category.